GMO’s – The Shocking Truth About Our Toxic Food System

In 2012 my husband and I separated and for the first time I was living on my own. It was then that I decided to start buying as much organic foods as I could to avoid eating Toxic Foods. Problem is I still didn’t know that many of the products I was eating were laced with GMO’s. (Here is a list of hidden ingredients to avoid.) My good friend, and herbalist Lori Jacobs released this article last year, Americans The Unwilling and Uninformed, trying to educate us on our franken food system.

In the fall of 2013 David and I were purchasing 75% organic foods for our grocery list. We had eliminated 90% of all dairy, soy, gluten and sugar. I felt good about what was in my pantry and the foods I was buying, but oddly enough I still felt bloated, and tired. So I started doing further research and discovered that everything has been cross contaminated unless otherwise stated. Well shit. So unless you’ve done your homework, and a lot of it, you don’t even know that you are eating them. Here is a simplified list to help you navigate the contaminated waters, better known as GMO’s.

GMO’s – The Shocking Truth About Our Toxic Food System

1) What the hell is a GMO?!

GMO, also known as a GM, is a genetically modified organism. It is a lab process of splicing genes and inserting various proteins to modify the plant genome. Basically scientists are genetically engineering DNA in a way that is not natural. It is a level of cross-breeding that would never happen naturally.

The first GMO was introduced in 1994 in tomatoes. The crops failed. In 1996 Monsanto created a GMO potato for fast food restaurants but later discontinued it in 2001. Currently, GMOs reside heavily in corn, canola, soy, sugar beets, alfalfa, and cotton – all of which reside in processed foods.

2) Do we need GMO’s?

According to big companies like Monsanto, Dupont and Syngenta it is done to attain a desirable trait. The goal is to create seeds that are weed and bug resistant. According to the companies that make them, the seeds produce higher yields for less money.

It is also very, very profitable. Farmers can no longer collect seeds from their crops. The GMO seeds are only good for one year and the farmers are forced to buy new seeds each year.

3) Do GMO seeds exist naturally?

No. They are created in a lab.

4) What kind of risk do GMO’s pose? Are the foods more or less stable?

According to Scott Firestone of His science is tight, “There’s an exceptionally small chance for a novel GMO protein to survive the digestive system intact and functional, and GMO proteins are not any more likely than any other protein to do so.”

Contemporary pop scientist, Neil DeGrasse Tyson argues it’s all just biotech paranoia. “It smacks the fear factor that exists at every new emergence of good science. When people don’t understand it they automatically reject it.”

Unfortunately, Tyson is an astrophysicist, not a biologist and despite his argument that: “the process to achieve a GMO is exactly the same as traditional agriculture techniques, it’s just done in a lab,” many disagree and feel that natural process does not and should not occur in a lab. Yes we have invented fabulous products like the internet and Mac computers – but most Americans don’t ingest them.

5) What is the harm in eating them?

Highly debatable. Little research has been done on the harm, if any, associated with GMO’s. There has not been enough independent research on long-term health and environmental consequences due to ingesting a GMO. The few studies that have been done as to the long-term effects have shown cancerous cell growth, destroyed immune systems, smaller brains, livers and other unexplained anomalies, but all have been discredited. Unfortunately, several of the studies done that show that they are “safe” have been funded or lobbied by the very companies producing the GMO’s. Economic decisions often outweigh health and safety.

Earth open source has a terrific page on the myths and truths about GMOs that I highly recommend. Interestingly enough, over 64 countries including China ban or require labeling. China has now put a ban on all animal feed produced with GMO corn and corn products and this may end up costing American farmers, ethanol producers and traders a total of about $3 billion dollars in losses.

The US government has banned GMO crops in wildlife refuges across the country in an effort to save our pollinators. And many big companies and retailers are ditching GMOs in their products despite the huge economic cost of doing so. Ben and Jerry’s is in the process of becoming Verified non-GMO. On average it is costing them 11% more on each of their 110 ingredients to get GMO’s out. There is a huge cost premium to locate suppliers who don’t use ingredients with GMO’s, showing how deeply rooted the technology has infiltrated our food chain. (If a company uses cornstarch on a cookie sheet before they produce their product, it could be laced with GMO corn)

6) Are GMOs responsible for increased food allergies?

Dr. Micheal F. Jacobson, executive director of The Center For Science and Public Interest (CSPI) says, “there is not a shred of proof.” But a few studies outside the US have been conducted and they found toxic effects in animals who ingested GMOs. They gained more weight despite eating less food, were prone to disease, had increased cardiac problems or failure and destroyed immune systems.

7) Do GMOs hurt the environment?

Yes. Many farmers are claiming that their once abundant GMO crops are starting to fail. Weeds are becoming larger, growing as much as 2″ a day and resist all herbicides now. Pesticides are no longer working so farmers are forced to use 25% more pesticide per acre, according to a Washington State University study. This level of chemicals leads to water, land and food contamination.

8) What crops are contaminated?

Highly contaminated crops:

Soy, Corn, Sugarbeets, Canola, Dairy, Alfalfa, Cotton, Zucchini

Because many products on the market, especially highly processed foods contain 3 or more of the above products, you are likely eating GMO’s everyday and didn’t even know it. (hidden ingredients to avoid)

9) Ok, so this sounds kind of bad. How did I not know I was eating these? Why aren’t they labeled?

The average American, if you stop them on the street, has no idea what a GMO is, nor do they know they are ingesting them every single day. Why has nothing been done? Well the Congressional Panel feels Americans are too stupid for GMO labeling. It also feeds big business. Many of the lobbyist in Congress work for GMO producing companies like Dupont, Syngenta and Monsanto. So there’s a bit of a conflict of interest.

There is currently no law that requires manufacturers to label their products. Vermont is one of the first states to adopt a state law that requires all products to be listed with GMO’s.

The Non GMO project is a non profit organization that has over 17,000 verified products. Participating Non-GMO retailers support the non GMO project and helps you find your every day products that are GMO free.

If you are worried about how to shop here’s how to avoid GMO’s when shopping for you and your family. You can also download a non GMO shopping guide onto your phone:

11) Do you have any other resources where I can learn more?

Yes. Continue to check back to my blog. I plan to continue this journey of eliminating GMO’s from my own diet and educating who ever will listen. Also, food babe has an extensive blog on GMO resources, and the Non-GMO Project.